Each week video game development site Gamasutra asks professional game developers a specific, industry-related question.

Last week the site asked its readers to comment on former ESA boss Doug Lowenstein's farewell speech, delivered recently at the D.I.C.E. Summit.

Perhaps surprisingly, the vast majority of the respondents were in total agreement with Lowenstein, although a few took issue with his tone. Here is a small sampling of responses:

Nintendo's efforts to appeal to the mainstream is a significant step toward removing the power of politicians who seek to grandstand... the ultimate step toward preventing video game censorship is finally recognizing them as a true art form... -John Leffingwell, Xot

I agree with Lowenstein that it's totally lame that only a few hands in the room went up saying they are members of the Video Game Voters Network. That kind of apathy from the industry is stupid. -Belinda Van Sickle, GameDocs

Artists should be responsible for safeguarding the moral integrity of their creations against the public's misinterpretation, lest we return to the era of witch hunts... -Pierre-Luc Lachance, Ubisoft Montreal

I think his points about journalism are especially well founded. He didn't say it, but its obvious what he's talking about, too - professionalism. -David Lannan, Eidetic Technology Pty Ltd

Our first amendment rights offer protection for all speech--both important and baseless--and it's the unpopular speech that needs protecting more than any other kind. -David Sirlin

It won't change anything. And, he did this at the END of his tenure. He basically made a scene and left. Is that really taking responsibility?" -Sutton Trout, Empire Interactive

Comments

Submitted by BmK (not verified) on Thu, 02/22/2007 - 21:36.

I liked Doug Lowenstein as the head rep for the ESA but i think he didn't do enough to try and get the politicans and the mainstream media off our backs while he was in. Personally, i think he left due to making alot of enemies in the political square.

the industry is a mindless cow nawing on all the green it can see and wondering why it winds up at the bottom of a cliff now and then,the game industry is slowly becoming like hollywood in every,blame the consumer for not buying enough,sue the consumer if they disagree with you and pause and wonder why hot titles are not selling because are made to quickly and to poorly.

I personally agree with what Doug said. The industry has done very little in defence of itself. It may come from the idea that "It's not my game they are complaining about." But they may not name your game directly but you are effected by it because you make games.

Now it doesn't matter if he said at the beginning or at the end, the result would have been the same, blank stares. That is the current state of the industry.

I think everyone's forgetting something. Lowenstein has no real -authority- over game developers. -All- he can do is speak from the pulpit his position gives him, and I think he's done a fairly good job at that. He could have done a better job, certainly, but don't make the mistake of thinking that the ESA has any sort of -control- or -authority- (as opposed to indirect influence by dint of perceived seniority of their spokespersons) over A) how games get made and what content goes into them, and B) how magazines and websites review games.

You can argue that he wasn't aggressive enough in fighting bad legislation (which isn't true. The ESA has met the bills that've made it into law, and frankly their budget -is- limited), or that he hasn't done enough to promote ratings education (and -there- I'll concede that there's more work that could be done), but those weren't the main thrusts of his parting speech.

I agreed with the content of a lot of what Lowenstein said, but like many others I think his aggression was excessive and his timing was off.

It's easy to complain about all the problems with an organization/industry when you're washing your hands of the issues; it would have engendered a lot more respect for Doug had he been so candid at the start of during his tenure.

Infophile: @Matt: Apparently Dan Aykroyd actually is involved. We don't know how yet, though, but he's apparently going to be in the movie in some way.08/02/2015 - 4:17am

Mattsworkname: I still hold that not having the origonal cast invovled in any way hurts this movie, and unless the 4 actresses in the lead roles can some how measure up to the comic timing of the origonal cast, i just don't see it being a success08/02/2015 - 12:46am

Mattsworkname: Mecha: regardless of what you think of it, GB 2 was a finanical success and for it time did well with audiances ,even if it wasnt as popular as the first08/02/2015 - 12:45am

MechaTama31: I think they're better off trying to do something different, than trying to be exactly the same and having every little difference held up as a shortcoming. Uncanny valley.08/01/2015 - 11:57pm

MechaTama31: Having the original cast didn't do much for... that pink-slimed atrocity which we must never speak of.08/01/2015 - 11:56pm

Mattsworkname: Andrew: If the new ghostbusters bombs, I cant help but feel it'll be cause it removed the origonal cast and changed the formula to much08/01/2015 - 8:31pm

Andrew Eisen: Not the best look but that appears to be a PKE meter hanging from McCarthy's belt.08/01/2015 - 7:34pm

Mattsworkname: You know what game is a lot of fun? rocket league. It' s a soccer game thats actually fun to play cause your A Freaking CAR!08/01/2015 - 7:02pm

Mattsworkname: Nomad colossus did a little video about it, showing the world and what can be explored in it's current form. It's worth a look, and he uses text for commentary as not to break the immerison08/01/2015 - 5:49pm

Mattsworkname: I feel some more mobility would have made it more interesting and I feel that a larger more diverse landscape with better graphiscs would help, but as a concept, it interests me08/01/2015 - 5:48pm

Andrew Eisen: Huh. I guess I'll have to check out a Let's Play to get a sense of the game.08/01/2015 - 5:47pm

Mattsworkname: It did, I found the idea of exploring a world at it's end, exploring the abandoned city of a disappeared alien race and the planets various knooks and crannies intriqued me.08/01/2015 - 5:46pm

Andrew Eisen: Did it appeal to you? If so, what did you find appealing?08/01/2015 - 5:43pm

Mattsworkname: Its an interesting concept, but it's not gonna appeal to everyone thats for sure,08/01/2015 - 5:40pm

Andrew Eisen: That sounds horrifically boring. Doesn't sound like an interesting use of its time dilation premise either. 08/01/2015 - 5:36pm